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Fulton County Judge Alford J. Dempsey Jr. (Photo: John Disney/ALM)[/caption] Fulton County Superior Court Judge Alford Dempsey Jr. confirmed Tuesday that he plans to retire after 23 years of service. Dempsey, who is 71, said through his legal assistant that he has been honored to serve the people of Fulton County and that his last day at work will be May 31. A Morehouse College graduate, Dempsey earned his J.D. at Harvard Law School in 1976. His first job, according to a biography on the History Makers website, was handling legal work for a political campaign. The slogan was “Why not the best?” The candidate was former Gov. Jimmy Carter, who was running for president. After Carter went on to the White House, Dempsey returned to Atlanta and worked as an assistant city attorney from 1977 to 1992. He became a judge first on the Fulton County Magistrate Court. Gov. Zell Miller appointed him to the Fulton County Superior Court in 1995. The Judicial Nominating Commission is taking applications to fill the vacancy, according to co-chairs J. Randolph Evans of Dentons and Pete Robinson of Troutman Sanders. Those interested in the opening may email the nominating commission through dana.mcguire@troutmansanders.com to request an application packet. The completed application packets are due to the JNC by Friday, May 11. The JNC plans to meet for interviews with candidates on May 18 at the State Bar of Georgia headquarters in downtown Atlanta. The commission plans to create a short list of five qualified candidates to submit to Gov. Nathan Deal for consideration.